Reina-Valera

Bible's title-page traced to the Bavarian printer Mattias Apiarius, "the bee-keeper". Note the emblem of a bear tasting honey. The title in English says: THE BIBLE,THAT IS, THE SA-CRED BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TE-STAMENT.

The Reina–Valera is a Spanish translation of the Bible originally published in 1602[1] when Cipriano de Valera revised the earlier translation produced in 1569 by Casiodoro de Reina. This translation was known as the "Biblia del Oso" (in English: Bear Bible)[2] because the illustration on the title page showed a bear trying to reach a container of honeycombs hanging from a tree.[3] Since that date, it has undergone various revisions notably those of 1909, 1960, 1995,[1] and more recently in 2011. The Reina–Valera Bible is as central to the perception of the Bible in Spanish as the King James Version is in English.

Contents

Casiodoro de Reina, a former Catholic monk of the Order of St. Jerome, and later an independent Lutherantheologian,[4] with the help of several collaborators[5] produced the Biblia del Oso, the first complete Bible printed in Spanish (earlier translations, such as the 13th-century Alfonsina Bible, translated from Jerome's Vulgate, had been copied by hand).

In 1602 Cipriano de Valera, a student of de Reina, published a revision of the Biblia del Oso which was printed in Amsterdam in which the deuterocanonical books were placed in a section between the Old and New Testaments called the Apocrypha.[8] Among the reasons for the revision was the fact that in the intervening period words had changed their meanings or gone out of use.[9] For a time, it was known simply by de Valera's name.[10]

The British and Foreign Bible Society, the American Bible Society and the United Bible Societies published a total of fifteen revisions between 1808 and 1995[10] of which those of 1909, 1960 and 1995 are the most significant today and remain in print[1] and a further revision appeared in 2011. Modern editions often omit the Apocrypha. The principle behind these revisions has been to remain as close to the original Reina–Valera as possible without causing confusion or misunderstanding.[11] Even the 1995 New Testament is based on the traditional Textus Receptus despite the fact that the United Bible Societies use modern critical Greek texts as the basis for other translations.[12] It retains the traditional form of the name of God, "Jehová" (with the notable exceptions of the Nueva Reina Valera 1990, revision which replaces "Jehová" with "El Eterno" and the Reina Valera Contemporánea, revision of 2011 which replaces "Jehová" with "El Señor").

In addition, it uses for the second-person plural the pronoun "vosotros" (except for the Reina Valera Contemporánea which replaces "vosotros" with "ustedes"), which is obsolete outside Spain.[13] Apart from updating the vocabulary where necessary, its major innovations lie in the area of visual presentation: Hebrew verse is printed in a way that reflects its structure rather than as if it were prose, and while the numbering of verses has been retained the text is laid out clearly in paragraphs.[14]

Since resurgence of the King James Only movement in the United States (and its exportation to other countries), there has been much debate among Christian groups who use the Reina–Valera Bible. However, the 1960 revision became the common Bible of many millions of Spanish-speaking Protestants around the world, surpassing the 1909 in its reception. Almost all Hispanic churches use it, despite further attempts to revise it (for example, the unofficial Reina–Valera-Gomez revision).

The 1602 Purified Bible done in Monterrey, Mexico, by advocates of King James Onlyism. The First edition was printed in 2001, with the Second Edition in 2002. Their purpose was to create (or better, to restore) a Spanish language bible which honored and remained true to the old Reina-Valera Castellan Spanish.

The Reina–Valera 1865, made by Dr. Ángel H. de Mora of Spain, and subsequently printed by the American Bible Society. The ABS continued to reprint this Valera edition until the 1950s. It was reprinted again in the year 2000 by the Local Church Bible Publishers of Lansing, Michigan, and the Valera Bible Society of Miami, Florida.

The Reina–Valera–Gómez Bible, a revision of the 1909, done in Matamoros, Mexico, by advocates of King James Onlyism.[18][19]

The Trinitarian Bible Society, itself advocating a mild form of King James Onlyism, has been working on a revision of the Valera 1909.